Owners perception of acquiring infections through raw pet food: a comprehensive internet-based survey

Peer reviewe

The effect of a raw vs dry diet on serum biochemical, hematologic, blood iron, B12, and folate levels in Staffordshire Bull Terriers

Background To date, very few studies have compared the effects of different types of feeding practices on canine physiology, such as feeding exclusively dry, raw, or homemade foods. Objectives We aimed to report the changes in hematologic, serum biochemical, plasma folate, B-12, and whole blood iron levels in dogs fed two different diets. Methods A pilot study was developed to compare the effects of a heat-processed high carbohydrate (HPHC) and nonprocessed high-fat (NPHF) diet. A total of 33 client-owned Staffordshire Bull Terriers were used; 18 had canine atopic dermatitis, seven were healthy, and eight were grouped as "borderline" dogs since they did not fulfill at least six of Favrot's criteria. The comparisons were made between the diet groups at the end visit of the diet intervention, as well as within the diet groups during the study. Results Significant differences between and within the diet groups were observed, although the majority of outcomes remained within the RIs. The median time of diet intervention was 140 days. Red blood cell counts, mean cell hemoglobin concentrations, and platelet counts were significantly higher, and mean cell hemoglobin, mean cell volume, alkaline phosphatase, inorganic phosphorus, and cholesterol were significantly lower in the dogs fed the NPHF diet compared with those fed the HPHC diet after the diet trial was completed. In addition, folate, B-12, and iron decreased significantly in the NPHF diet group. Conclusions This pilot study indicated that diet had an impact on blood values, although most remained within RIs, pointing out the need for further studies.Peer reviewe

Evaluating oxidative stress, serological- and haematological status of dogs suffering from osteoarthritis, after supplementing their diet with fish or corn oil

Background: Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of disease, and the antioxidant physiological effect of omega-3 from fish oil may lead to improvement of canine spontaneous osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: In this prospective randomized, controlled, double-blinded study, we assessed haematological and biochemical parameters in dogs with OA following supplementation with either a concentrated omega-3 deep sea fish oil product or corn oil. Blood samples from 77 client-owned dogs diagnosed as having OA were taken before (baseline) and 16 weeks after having orally ingested 0.2 ml/Kg bodyweight/day of deep sea fish oil or corn oil. Circulating malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI), free carnitine (Free-Car), 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), and serum fatty acids, haemograms and serum biochemistry were evaluated. Differences within and between groups from baseline to end, were analysed using repeated samples T-test or Wilcoxon rank test and independent samples T-test or a Mann-Whitney test. Results: Supplementation with fish oil resulted in a significant reduction from day 0 to day 112 in MDA (from 3.41 +/- 1.34 to 2.43 +/- 0.92 mu mol/L; P <0.001) and an elevation in Free-Car (from 18.18 +/- 9.78 to 21.19 +/- 9.58 mu mol/L; P = 0.004) concentrations, whereas dogs receiving corn oil presented a reduction in MDA (from 3.41 +/- 1.34 to 2.41 +/- 1.01 mu mol/L; P = 0.001) and NTBI (from -1.25 +/- 2.17 to -2.31 +/- 1.64 mu mol/L; P = 0.002). Both groups showed increased (albeit not significantly) GSH and 8-OH-dG blood values. Dogs supplemented with fish oil had a significant reduction in the proportions of monocytes (from 3.84 +/- 2.50 to 1.77 +/- 1.92 %; P = 0.030) and basophils (from 1.47 +/- 1.22 to 0.62 +/- 0.62 %; P = 0.012), whereas a significant reduction in platelets counts (from 316.13 +/- 93.83 to 288.41 +/- 101.68 x 10(9)/L; P = 0.029), and an elevation in glucose (from 5.18 +/- 0.37 to 5.32 +/- 0.47 mmol/L; P = 0.041) and cholesterol (from 7.13 +/- 1.62 to 7.73 +/- 2.03 mmol/L; P = 0.011) measurements were observed in dogs receiving corn oil. Conclusions: In canine OA, supplementation with deep sea fish oil improved diverse markers of oxidative status in the dogs studied. As corn oil also contributed to the reduction in certain oxidative markers, albeit to a lesser degree, there was no clear difference between the two oil groups. No clinical, haematological or biochemical evidence of side effects emerged related to supplementation of either oil. Although a shift in blood fatty acid values was apparent due to the type of nutraceutical product given to the dogs, corn oil seems not to be a good placebo.Peer reviewe

CONSCIÊNCIA NA SUBSTITUIÇÃO DO USO DE ANIMAIS NO ENSINO: ASPECTOS HISTÓRICOS, ÉTICOS E DE LEGISLAÇÃO

o especismo, a discriminação de direitos em favor da espéciehumana e em detrimento de outras espécies, é praticado também noambiente acadêmico. O uso indiscriminado de animais não-humanospara o ensino e a pesquisa é uma prática antiga, que foi consolidadadurante a Idade Moderna. Mesmo diante da tecnologia atual, osanimais ainda são usados, de forma prejudicial, para a demonstraçãode conhecimentos. Como reação de um número crescente depesquisadores em todas as áreas do conhecimento, tem havido umaumento da criação, aperfeiçoamento e consolidação de métodossubstitutivos e, por parte dos estudantes, a objeção de consciência.Assim, a substituição do uso prejudicial de animais por métodosmais eficazes é uma realidade possível e positiva no desenvolvimento ético dos humanos pelo refinamento do respeito aos não-humanos, possibilitando o desenvolviment de habilidades necessárias à prática profissional

Water-energy-emissions nexus – an integrated analysis applied to a case study

Competition for water use, population growth, territorial expansion for housing, the finitude of fossil fuels, climate change, and the lack of consistent and continuous energy planning are some of the existing problems related to planning and monitoring energy supply systems. This work presents an integrated analysis of the water-energy-emissions nexus using two computational models simultaneously in order to consider a case study for the modeling of hydropower plants. The main results include the reduction in hydropower generation at the end of the study horizon (2019 – 2049) between (-16.8%) and (-7.8%) considering water restriction scenarios. Final electricity demand, in the reference scenario, increased 40.8% and, in alternative scenarios, there was an increase between 63.6% and 89.5% when reductions in the rainfall regime were considered

A laboratory evaluation of alcohols as attractants for the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera:Psychodidae)

Background: The potential attraction from 1-octen-3-ol for sandflies has been documented; however, studies using other primary alcohols are limited.Findings: We used a wind tunnel to compare the activation and attractive behaviors in male and female Lutzomyia longipalpis using 1-octen-3-ol and three additional alcohols, 1-octanol, 1-heptanol and 1-nonanol at three different concentrations: neat (100%) and diluted in hexane (10% and 50%). The compounds 1-octen-3-ol and 1-nonanol induced a clear concentration-dependent activation and attraction response in females. In males, 1-octen-3-ol, 1-nonanol and 1-heptanol yielded the same results.Conclusions: L. longipalpis is attracted to 1-octen-3-ol, 1-nonanol and 1-heptanol, which are found in many plant volatiles

Mathematical modelling using predictive biomarkers for the outcome of canine Leishmaniasis upon chemotherapy

Prediction parameters of possible outcomes of canine leishmaniasis (CanL) therapy might help with therapeutic decisions and animal health care. Here, we aimed to develop a diagnostic method with predictive value by analyzing two groups of dogs with CanL, those that exhibited a decrease in parasite load upon antiparasitic treatment (group: responders) and those that maintained high parasite load despite the treatment (group: non-responders). The parameters analyzed were parasitic load determined by q-PCR, hemogram, serum biochemistry and immune system-related gene expression signature. A mathematical model was applied to the analysis of these parameters to predict how efficient their response to therapy would be. Responder dogs restored hematological and biochemical parameters to the reference values and exhibited a Th1 cell activation profile with a linear tendency to reach mild clinical alteration stages. Differently, non-responders developed a mixed Th1/Th2 response and exhibited markers of liver and kidney injury. Erythrocyte counts and serum phosphorus were identified as predictive markers of therapeutic response at an early period of assessment of CanL. The results presented in this study are highly encouraging and may represent a new paradigm for future assistance to clinicians to interfere precociously in the therapeutic approach, with a more precise definition in the patient’s prognosis.This work was funded by the Brazilian agencies Bahia Research Foundation—FAPESB (Grant nº PRONEM 498/2011-PNE 0002/2011 to S.M.B-M), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development —CNPq (PQ scholarship nº 307813/2018-5 to SMBM, and nº 303621/2015-0 to HG) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior —CAPES (PDSE scholarship nº 88881.189587/2018-01 to R.S.G; Finance Code 001 and PV scholarship nº 23066.033859/2018-73 to R.S.). This work was supported by grants from CESPU (TramTap-CESPU-2016, Chronic-TramTap_CESPU_2017 and TraTapMDMA-CESPU-2018), from the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013), funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (contract IF/00021/2014 to R.S.), Infect-Era (project INLEISH to R.S.) and Proyecto SNIP N◦ 292900 “Creación del Servicio de Laboratorio de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitarias de Animales Domésticos de la Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas.Instituto de Investigación en Ganadería y Biotecnología-IGBI. Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas

Pharmacokinetics of Carboplatin in Combination with Low-Dose Cyclophosphamide in Female Dogs with Mammary Carcinoma

This prospective study aimed to evaluate the effect of metronomic cyclophosphamide on carboplatin’s tolerability, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics in dogs with mammary carcinoma. Sixteen female dogs with mammary carcinoma were divided into groups: 300 mg/m2 intravenous (i.v.) carboplatin therapy (G1 = 8) or 300 mg/m2 i.v. carboplatin which was associated with 12.5 mg/m2 oral cyclophosphamide in a metronomic regimen (G2 = 8). The investigated animals underwent a clinical evaluation, a mastectomy, a carboplatin chemotherapy, and serial blood sampling for the pharmacokinetic analysis. The adverse events and survival rates were monitored. A non-compartmental analysis was applied to calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters of carboplatin in the 2nd and 4th chemotherapy cycles. Carboplatin PK showed high interindividual variability with a 10-fold variation in the area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) in G1. The systemic plasma exposure to carboplatin was equivalent in both of the treatments considering the AUC and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) values. Although the red blood cells (p < 0.0001), platelets (p = 0.0005), total leukocytes (p = 0.0002), and segmented neutrophils (p = 0.0007) were reduced in G2, the survival rate increased (p = 0.0044) when it was compared to G1. In conclusion, adding low daily doses of cyclophosphamide to a carboplatin therapy showed promising outcomes in female dogs with mammary tumors

Parasite load in the blood and skin of dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum is correlated with their capacity to infect sand fly vectors

AbstractThe sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis is primarily responsible for the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the New World, and dogs are considered to be the main urban reservoir of this disease. In order to improve the efficacy of control measures, it is essential to assess the transmission capacity of Leishmania infantum to the sand fly vector by naturally infected dogs. The present study investigated the existence of correlations between canine clinical presentation and the intensity of parasite load in the blood, skin and spleen of naturally infected dogs. In addition, we also attempted to establish correlations between the intensity of parasite load in canine tissue and the parasite load detected in sandflies five days after feeding on naturally infected dogs. A total of 23 dogs were examined and classified according to clinical manifestation of canine VL. Blood samples, splenic aspirate and skin biopsies were collected and parasite DNA was quantified by qPCR. Canine capacity to infect Lu. longipalpis with parasites was evaluated by xenodiagnosis and parasite loads were measured five days after feeding. No significant differences were observed with respect to canine clinical manifestation and the parasite loads detected in the blood, skin and spleen samples obtained from naturally infected dogs. Regardless of clinical canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) presentation and the degree of parasite burden, almost half of the dogs successfully infected sandflies with parasites, albeit to a low number of sandflies with correspondingly low parasite loads. Parasite loads in both canine blood and skin were shown to be positively correlated with the canine infectiousness to the sand fly vector, and positive correlations were also observed with respect to these tissues and the sand fly infection rate, as well as the parasite load detected in sandflies following xenodiagnosis. In conclusion, this indicates that parasite loads in both blood and skin can function as potentially reliable markers of canine capacity to infect sand fly vector